When The End Comes
by Celestical
Summary: Because defeating Ozai doesn't just end the war, it's the start of a new era, for the three remaining nations and Aang; who can no longer ignore reality about what happened a hundred years ago.


When it was all over, he had stood in silence gazing out at the airships burning and sinking. The red of the sky was slowly receding, leaving the spoils of war stretched out before him. The sight gave him a slight jolt, and he wondered why. Did he really expect that defeating Ozai was the end? That as Sozin's comet flew on its path out, it would take all the destruction a hundred years had caused with it? There was still so much work to be done. The Earth Kingdom would have to rebuild Ba Sing Se and Omashu; the Water Tribes- especially the Southern Tribe- would need to recover from losing so many; the Fire Nation would need to regain the trust of the other nations. And the Air Nomads…the Air Nomads would not be returning, they would be left in history as a once great civilization whose sole fault was being next in the Avatar cycle, and having an Avatar who couldn't even protect them.

His head was spinning, badly enough that it took him a few moments to register the arrival of his friends. And despite the banter with Toph, the excitement from Sokka and the poor attempts at humour from Suki, Aang coud feel himself falling. Having gotten Katara's whereabouts from the others- and trusting Zuko and Appa to have kept her safe- he took off into the sky, ignoring their cries as he went, only pausing to ask them to take care of Ozai for him.

Aang flew over the towering stone pillars, tracing back the path he and Ozai had taken in their battle. The signs were evident, as was the smoke rising behind him, blocking out some of the light as he went on, his shadow a blur beneath him.

Having flown for two days with little rest, he arrived at the ruins of the Southern Air Temple, landing on the balcony where Gyatso used to bake cakes while they had joked. Sitting cross-legged on the ledge, Aang closed his eyes. If he tried hard enough, he could hear the whoosh of Air Scooters down below, the calling of the Sky Bison and the mumbling of countless monks. And for that moment, he could really believe that nothing had changed; he wasn't the Avatar, the temple wasn't in ruins, and he was still a happy child of twelve. A thud-his glider falling listlessly to the ground- knocked him out of concentration, and he opened his eyes to reality. The only sound he could hear was his own breathing, louder than the winds that wrapped the mountaintop like a blanket.

Katara-and the others, but especially her- would be worried sick he knew. Wondering where he had gone off too after having accomplished such a great feat; defeating the Fire Lord and ending the war, all without having taken a single life. But he needed this time, to come to terms with what had happened, and what was too happen. From the moment he had been released from the iceberg until now, Aang never really had a chance to catch his breath. No, he realized, even earlier than that; from the moment he had learned about being the Avatar all the realizations and truths of what he had been expected to do had been thrown at him with rapid speed, and everyone assumed he would go along with easy acceptance.

But it had been hard, he admitted to himself. There was back-crushing guilt for the war he could have ended sooner, for all the lives he could have saved. And he had run, deciding to spend the first few weeks after having been released doing all the things he had wanted to do, to pretend as if he didn't have looming responsibilities in front of him. And while he knew he had gotten lucky with Team Avatar –having friends who stood by his side was something even Roku had lacked- they had not been expected to stop an all-powerful nation, to go against their teachings and save the world; a world that he knew nothing about and was strange from the moment he woke up. And he, all of them really, were still children, going headlong into battles they should have known nothing about. But life was not fair, Aang knew that very well. So he would accept that he had been given an important task and had done a great job with it, just like he had accepted everything else. But he needed some time first.

A roar shook him out of his reverie, and he glanced up to see Appa coming down and landing behind him as the last of the sun's shadows encased the temple. He glanced into Appa's eyes and couldn't help but give a small smile. Appa understood, Aang knew, because they both were in the same situation, were in this together, had always been. As Appa laid down for a nap, Aang turned back around, sweeping his eyes across the familiar view before him, before going into meditation. He would have to return to the Fire Nation soon, but he was going to take this last night for himself.

As Aang ran through the meditation teachings of the monks and Guru Pathik, he felt himself relax. This was something familiar, something that had always helped him bring things into perspective. He had lifelong friends to stand beside him, friends who had helped him face the past and who would help him face the future. He had the assistance of the past Avatars to guide him along in their wisdom. He wasn't as lonely as he thought, Aang mused. Certainly not as lonely as Zuko had been, with only his Uncle, or Toph, who the badgermoles, or even Sokka and Katara, who only truly had had each other. Aang had had Gyatso, Bumi, and Kuzon. And once he had woken up, there was Sokka, Katara, and Appa initially, until the people he could call friends had grown so vast that there was always someone there to help; someone to tell him it was okay, even when he had failed with the first invasion.

As daylight broke and he heard the rhythmic breathing of Appa standing patiently behind him, a constant that would always be there, Aang felt a small tear run down his cheek. He was in a wonderful position and he knew it.

When he landed in the Royal Palace courtyard, and saw his friends rushing towards him; looking worried, happy and furious, he smiled despite knowing Katara was likely going to take his head off for disappearing for four days. But to his surprise, he was simply engulfed in a large, group hug before they all stepped back and simply looked at him.

"Aang?" Katara asked quietly. And he knew all the unasked questions that came with that one word, with those gazes.

"It's okay," he said with a grin, patting Appa on the nose, "Really."

_It's alright now, now that I'm here, with all of you. And even if it isn't, we'll make it okay. Together._


End file.
